Assessment of Quality of Life and Social Correlates among Drug Sensitive and Multidrug-resistant Tuberculosis Patients

Abstract

Abstract Background: Tuberculosis (TB) has significant health, social, psychological, and economic impacts on patients. This study aimed to assess and compare quality of life (QOL) among multidrug-resistant (MDR) TB patients and drug-sensitive TB patients. Materials and Methods: A comparative study was conducted among 40 MDR-TB patients and 80 age- and gender-matched drug-sensitive TB patients in Chitradurga district, South India. Sociodemographic data were collected and QOL was assessed using the WHO BREF scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS v20. Results: The study population was predominantly male (65%) and aged 27–35 years. Education level and socioeconomic status differed significantly between MDR and sensitive TB groups (P < 0.05). MDR-TB patients had significantly lower self-rated QOL and health satisfaction compared to sensitive TB patients (P < 0.001). MDR-TB patients scored lower on all four QOL domains (physical, psychological, social relationships, and environmental), with the psychological domain most affected. The majority of both MDR and sensitive TB patients had “fair” QOL across domains. Conclusion: QOL was impaired in both MDR and sensitive TB patients, but more severely in MDR-TB. The psychological domain was most affected. Factors such as poor accessibility to health services, low socioeconomic status, and poor mental health may contribute to reduce QOL in TB patients.